‘Roger and Stan, my love to you is absolutely ridiculous’
Roger Federer produced a vintage performance in front of the largest tennis crowd ever to win Switzerland’s first Davis Cup, the team event for men. Reaction in and outside Switzerland has been euphoric. And bizarre.
All Swiss newspapers cleared their front pages and top positions online – as they had done all weekend – and followed the match point by point.
“The tennis king crowns Switzerland” was the headline in the Tages-Anzeiger in Zurich. “The Davis Cup is ours! Switzerland’s historic triumph” wrote the Corriere del Ticino.
Tabloid Blick also raved about the “historic” win and right below the online headline had a poll: “What a great victory! Are you now going to learn to play tennis?” At the time of writing, 70% of readers have clicked on “No – I’ll leave that to Roger and Stan.”
The 33-year-old Federer swept aside Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday, giving Switzerland an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five encounter. He and Stan Wawrinka had put Switzerland into a 2-1 lead on Saturday with a straight sets defeat of Gasquet and Julien Benneteau in the doubles.
Federer was thrashed by Gaël Monfils in his first singles match after struggling with a bad back but recovered as the weekend progressed and did not face a break point on Sunday.
Action in the Twittersphere had been almost as furious as that on court. This was the “official” moment when a perfectly weighted drop shot by the merciless Federer sealed the deal for Switzerland:
SWITZERLAND WINS!!! @rogerfedererExternal link defeats Gasquet to give Switzerland its 1st #DavisCupExternal link title! pic.twitter.com/JJDmai9ug3External link
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 23, 2014External linkPrompting a dream reaction from the Swiss Tennis Association:
IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE!!!! 2014 DAVIS CUP CHAMPIONS!!!! YEEEEEES!! #SupportTheSwissExternal link pic.twitter.com/Ilnf0spcxSExternal link
— Swiss Tennis (@swiss_tennis) November 23, 2014External linkSure enough the Federer waterworks were soon turned on, but he wasn’t the only person to be overwhelmed:
I may not be Swiss but I am crying my eyes out. Felicitations le Suisse pour gagner le Coupe Davis! #ChampionExternal link #IncroyableExternal link
— Edward Hilvano (@JeSuisEdouard) November 23, 2014External linkBut the ever-gracious Federer made sure the spotlight wasn’t only on him. “I’m really happy for all the guys in the team,” he said afterwards. “Stan put so much effort over the years and he played an unbelievable weekend, that’s what gave me the opportunity today. I’m very much aware of that, this one is for the boys.”
Indeed, many people rated Stan Wawrinka, the world number four – two places behind Federer – Switzerland’s backbone and the Cup’s most valuable player.
Though Federer clinched, MVP of #DavisCupExternal link final for Switzerland has to be Wawrinka, who steadied the team through Roger's back uncertainty.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) November 23, 2014External linkStan Wawrinka has had an immensely successful year. Grand Slam, Masters and Davis Cup titles. For me, only Djokovic had a better season.
— Louise (@louisecoghill) November 23, 2014External linkFederer has Olympic gold thanks to Stan, has Davis Cup title thanks to Stan, and has 3 (not 2) more slams than Rafa thanks to Stan.
— Ricky Dimon (@RD_Tennistalk) November 23, 2014External linkWhat's cool is that Wawrinka stepped up and made this happen. And Mirka, of course, fired them up…
— Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild) November 23, 2014External linkA reference to Mrs Federer, who allegedly heckled Wawrinka during a match against her husband last weekend, which – again allegedly – led to a ten-minute face-to-face between the two players in the changing room afterwards.
I want a pic of Swiss team carrying Mirka.
— Nicholas Arias (@_NicholasArias) November 23, 2014External linkThe politicians were quick to offer their congratulations. Didier Burkhalter, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, couldn’t be there in person but sent his thoughts via SMS: “Your victory is the reward for your talent and desire. It carries your signature.”
Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga made it to Lille to watch the doubles victory on Saturday and Sports Minister Ueli Maurer had front-row seats on Sunday. Interior Minister Alain Berset took to Twitter:
IMMENSE, la victoire suisse! Bravo et merci à toute l'équipe! Grossartiges Team, herzliche Gratulation! #CoupeDavisExternal link #FRASUIExternal link
— Alain Berset (@alain_berset) November 23, 2014External linkFinally, Swiss singer-songwriter Sophie HungerExternal link expressed her feelings (in English) on Facebook:
“Switzerland wins the Davis Cup. Roger and Stan, my love to you is absolutely ridiculous. It is VERY unlikely that I will ever love someone or something as much as I love you. The rest of the world is nothing but a faint chuckle. With perfect devotion, Sophie Hunger .. a grain of sand.”
Can’t top that.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.